Trucking News

Minimizer, a company serving semi-truck operators, has introduced the brand new steerable axle fender bracket kit. For use with the Watson Chalin SL20K-2065 axle, this bracket kit is designed for MIN2220 fenders.

Cummins unveiled the next generation of 6.7L turbo diesel engine. This higher horsepower engine boasts a first-in-class, record setting, 1,000 pound-feet of torque. Made for 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty RAM pickup trucks, customers are sure to impressed with this engine’s high levels of performance and innovation.

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is pushing the bounds of autonomy with their first SAE level 2 automated truck in series production. Featuring the latest enhancements to their Freightliner Cascadia, the level 2 of automation means that the truck can steer itself and control acceleration and deceleration. This ability to take both lateral and longitudinal control, as well as the many improvements made to the efficiency of the vehicle, made this industry-leading performer a perfect addition to the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this past January.

Kenworth Truck Company and Toyota Motor North America have recently teamed up in order to develop ten new zero-emission Kenworth T680 trucks, all to be powered by Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains. This collaboration was made possible by the $41million grant preliminarily awarded to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The large sum of grant money comes from an even larger $82 million program that hopes to put fuel cell electric tractors, hydrogen fueling infrastructure, and zero emissions cargo handling equipment into operation in Los Angeles' basin and ports by 2020.

Dump trucks are larger and tip over more easily than ever before. With the increased frequency of tipping hazards comes the need for a proper dump truck tip-over prevention system. The WINK anti-tip system for dump trucks and dump trailers provides four extra layers of load dump protection to keep dump trailers from turning over.

XL, announced that they have achieved their 14th California Air Resources Board (CARB) executive order, allowing them to begin selling hybrid electric Ford F-250 pickup trucks in California. This is the highest number of CARB executive orders for commercial electrification in the entire automotive industry. XL is proving to to be a valuable asset for providing economic and environmental advantage for fleets across North America with their hybrid-equipped Ford F-250, which improves fuel economy by an average of 25%, while reducing CO2 emissions by 20%.

Toyota has recently unveiled the second iteration of their hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 truck. Project Portal 2.0, an expansion of Toyota’s first test vehicle, is a giant leap towards a future of zero-emissions trucking.The announcement was made for media and industry leaders in Northern Michigan at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management briefing seminars.

As of this July, Kenworth will now be offering predictive cruise control as standard for their T680 on-highway flagship truck model. This addition will serve to boost fuel economy and ultimately make the life of the driver easier. The predictive cruise control functionality is also available as an option for the Kenworth T880.

If power and proficiency are what you look for when choosing to buy a new commercial van, Ram has upped the ante with their new updates to the ProMaster and ProMaster City series. Improvements include significant increases to both payload capability and towing capability. With three new models and notable changes to existing models, the lineup offers a fit for whatever your needs may be.

Freightliner Cascadia truck models will now have a new battery powered HVAC system available as a factory-installed option. The new Battery Powered HVAC system has replaced the previously offered ParkSmart system. Now available, you can order yours today for an impressive 10 hours of cooling or 34 hours of heating to the cab when parked.

Kenworth announced that their T680 on-highway flagship truck will now come standard with both Bendix ADB22X front and rear air disc brakes. While the Bendix ADB22X front air disc brakes have been standard for the past several years, the addition of the rear air disc brakes as standard is thanks to Kenworth now offering rear air disc brakes as standard in general.

As an effort to help customers realize maximum fuel efficiency, Mack Trucks recently announced they will be offering the Mack MP 8HE and HE+ packages for Mack Anthem models. These models, when outfitted with the aforementioned packages, will deliver up to a 9.5 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. The packages also help models to achieve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay designation.

The recent event for Daimler Trucks and Capital Market and Technology Day saw an exciting announcement from Daimler Trucks, when they unveiled their two new freightliner electric test vehicle models. The eCascadia heavy-duty truck and the eM2 106 medium-duty truck are both scheduled to begin customer testing later this year. These are the first two of the company’s Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet, which will offer the widest range of commercial electric vehicles of any OEM in North America, consisting of 30 vehicles.

Volvo is leading the way in electrified transport solutions with the unveiling of their second all-electric truck, the Volvo FE Electric. Their first truck, the Volvo FL Electric, was introduced just three weeks prior to this announcement. This new truck is designed for heavier city distribution and refuse transport operations with gross weights of up to 27 tonnes, and can be expected to go on sale in Europe in 2019.

Volvo Trucks is following in the footsteps of Volvo cars by introducing their cloud-based service, Connected Safety. This technology allows Volvo trucks and Volvo cars to communicate with each other by sharing real-time traffic hazard information in order to cut down on accidents due to risks that lie on the road ahead. This collaboration between two independent vehicle manufacturers is a move to spearhead the future of vehicle safety with the hopes that more will follow suit.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, unveiled their fully electric version of their Kalmar Ottawa T2 Terminal Tractor. Producing zero emissions at the source, this fully electric powertrain is not only economical, but comfortable as well. The new tractor has been designed for trailer-handling in dispersed warehouses, container terminals, and for other jobs where short-term highway travel is unavoidable.

Volvo Trucks has announced that they will officially be selling and producing their first all-electric trucks for commercial use in Europe next year. The Volvo FL Electric ror urban distribution and refuse operations, among other applications, is an exciting and logical next step in the company’s move towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly operations. This launch will certainly cement Volvo as a leader in solutions for electrified goods transport in cities.

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and XL, a leader in fleet electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets that has worked with many Fortune 500 companies to make the change to electrification, recently announced that PSE has finished outfitting forty new vehicles with hybrid conversion technology. This change will serve to reduce each van’s carbon footprint, support the change from petroleum to XL hybrid gas/electric systems, and reduce CO2 emissions by 1.3 million pounds annually. PSE also showcased one of these new hybrid vans at the Green Transportation Summit and Expo on April 17-19th in order to showcase how easy it is for companies to convert fleet vehicles to cleaner systems, in turn, saving costs.

Volvo’s new VNX heavy-haul series has all the brawn you need for heavy-haul applications like logging, heavy equipment transport, and long combination vehicles. These durable, yet polished, additions to the lineup have up to 605 horsepower and 2,050 pounds per foot of torque. In the midst of the company’s revitalization of their product range, this series was the next logical step in complementing both their VNR series for regional hauls and their VNL series for long hauls.

Visitors at the recently held 2018 Work Truck Show had the privilege of visiting the Freightliner Trucks booth in order to explore their wide range of truck models. Guests could also explore the powertrain and connectivity solutions that Freightliner Trucks has established in order to meet the needs of vocational and medium-duty applications. The booth also showcased several alternative-fuel solutions, which contributed to making the experience both relative and informative.